R A T E S O F G R O W T H O F

P H A S E O L U S V U L G A R I S
F O L L O W I N G E X P O S U R E T O
C H L O R I N E G A S AS A POTENTIAL QUANTITATIVE
M E A S U R E O F T R A D E E X T ER N A L I T I E S
NICOLE SULLIVAN

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Graph I: Average daily growth of three different trial groups of P. vulgaris (in cm.)

0.6
0.5

Growth in cm.

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
-0.1
-0.2
0

Trial I

3
Trial II

4
Day

Trial III

Control

Table I: Heights of P. vulgaris before and after treatment (in cm)

Trial
I
12
18
II
26A
24B
21A
21B
III
27A
25B
18A
18B
Control
2
22
6

Before
Treatment

Eight Days Following

Treatment

11
9.1

Overall growth

9.1
6.7

-1.9
-2.4

17.2
13
14.5
14.4

19.2
11.2
13.7
13.6

2
-1.8
-0.8
-0.8

7.5
9.9
12.6
13

11.6
12.3
13.2
15.1

4.1
2.4
0.6
2.1

10.1
13.9
14.1

12.6
13.5
16.6

2.5
-0.4
2.5

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Since chlorine is water soluble, it is

frequently pressurized into its liquid
state and used as a disinfectant. In the
U.S. alone, 13 to 14 billion pounds of
chlorine are produced each year and
carried via railway to water treatment
plants, factories, and distribution
warehouses. Accidents involving these
chemicals have led to the evolution of
chlorine gas within the environment
and unintended human exposure. In
January 2005, a locomotive derailment
in South Carolina released 42 to 60
tons of chlorine gas into the
surrounding area.
71 people were
hospitalized with chlorine gas
poisoning, and one person died while
in hospital care (Wenck et al. 2007).
In September of 2014, a leakage at a
pool store in Cocoa Beach, Florida
caused the release of 1,100 gallons of
chlorine to the surrounding area
(Waymer 2014).
2,000 gallons of
chlorine from a different pool
company were spilled in El Cajon,
California in July 2015 (Chen 2015).
In Spokane, Washington in August
2015, eight people were hospitalized
following exposure to chlorine gas that
had leaked from a nearby industrial
park (Humphrey 2015).

2000). Externalizing the costs of these

environmental and social
consequences in taxes and insurance
hides wider detriment from the public
and perpetuates consumer ignorance
(Austin 2015; Forkenbrock 2001;
Forkenbrock 1999; Mayeres et al.
1996). To quantify external costs and
perform accurate extrapolations,
scientific investigation must concern
itself with extent of physical
environmental damage observed in
empirical research. Because of the
route through which human injury
occurs in instances of chlorine
exposure, it is not necessarily
analogous to extent of plant damage.
It was posited that environmental
damage might still result from the
exposure through routes aside from the
respiratory tract and that
bioremediation would then be a
requirement. Thus, an investigation
into the effects of exposure on plant
growth was warranted.
This pilot
study was conducted in anticipation of
studies of larger sample sizes and
lengthier growth periods on which
economic and environmental costanalyses could be based. Phaseolus
vulgaris was chosen as the species for
experimental subjects as it has high
rates of germination, requires short
sprouting periods, and grow in large
range of climates (Muasya et al. 2008;
Kooistra 1971; Nahar et al. 2009). The
study was performed over a six-week
period; all plants were grown in
natural greenhouse light for three
weeks prior to gas exposure. The
study was terminated after three weeks
of data subsequent to the exposure had
been collected.

While bleach and Clorox have

relatively low retail costs, the costs for
cleanup, remediation, and healthcare
following spills are in the thousands
(Khan et al. 2004; Remediation

Materials & Methods

Soil was potted and two P. vulgaris
beans were planted one knuckle deep
in the pots. This procedure was used
from Trials I-III. Each trial used

Introduction
Chlorine gas is a highly potent
chemical inhalant that is yellow-green
as a gas and reacts with water in the
respiratory passages and mucous
membranes of humans to produce
hydrochloric and hypochloric acids.
These chemicals cause inflammation
in the bronchi, trachea, larynx,
pharynx, nasal mucosa and conjunctiva
(Duffy, 2009).

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

bleach (6% NaClO) and 12 M HCl.

Six plants were grown in open air with
no chlorine treatment as a control
group. In the first trial, six plants were
treated with 100 mL of bleach and 15
mL HCl from which 6 g of Cl was
evolved; in the second trial, six plants
were treated with 50 mL of bleach and
7.5 mL HCl, from which 3 g of Cl
was evolved; and in trial III, six plants
were treated with 10 mL of bleach and
1.5 mL HCl, from which 0.6 g of Cl
was evolved. Reactants were added to
an Erlenmeyer flask and a bell jar was
placed over the plants and flask (Fig.
9). A funnel with cotton balls allowed
slow filtration of oxygen to plants
while preventing significant loss of
chlorine gas. Plants were treated for
48 hours, at which time the chlorine
gas had dissipated (solutions had
turned from yellow to clear). Bell jars
were then removed. Heights were
measured beforehand and again after
eight days, recorded in Table I. Each
new bud was measured from stem to
tip. The growth of buds on a marked
day indicates the difference between
previous day and marked day. Growth
of buds of each plant in each trial was
averaged. Results of these averages
are displayed in Graph I. A negative
measurement does not indicate
backwards
growth;
rather,
measurements decreased when leaves
crumpled as they withered and lost
biomass (compare Fig. 1 to 3 and 4 to
6, respectively).

leaves fell off and died after treatment,

there was no significant height growth
following treatment (Table I).

Results
Despite initial bleaching and
destruction of leaves on treated plants
(Fig. 2, 5, 7 & 8), plants in trials II and
III grew healthy new buds with growth
similar to those buds on control plants
(Graph I). Additionally, after eight
days (Fig. 3 & 6), plants in trials II and
III resembled their appearance prior to
exposure (Fig. 1 & 4). Because main

Forkenbrock, David. 1999. External costs of intercity truck

freight transportation. Transportation Research Part A 33.
505-526. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.145.3557&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Discussion
The continued growth of P. vulgaris
plants exposed to the lowest
concentration of chlorine gas is
encouraging as it implies that plant life
is adaptable in the face of oxidative
stress.
However, plants that were
exposed to the highest concentrations
suffered stunted growth in the days
following the contact with chlorine
gas. These concentrations were most
comparable to an accidental spill, and
thus suggest that the cost to the
environment in such cases is
significant. Studies estimating costs of
cleanup and length of time required for
natural recovery of the environment
would be an important supplement to
this investigation. Sample size and
length of study must be increased in
crop studies to support the results
found and suggestions made upon
conclusion of this study.

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Humphrey, Jeff. 2015. Eight injured in industrial park chlorine

gas leak. KXLY4. http://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-news/
fire-ems-crews-responding-to-hazmat-incident-at-pacificsteel-and-recycling/34675858
Mayeres I, Ochelen S, Proost S. 1996. The marginal external
costs of urban transport. Transpn Res D. 1(2): 111-130. https://
www.researchgate.net/profile/Proost_Stef/publication/
222476326_The_marginal_external_costs_of_urban_transport
/links/02bfe50dca58fb645d000000.pdf
Muasya RM, Lommen WJM, Muui CW, Struik PC. 2008.
How weather during development of common bean
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) affects the crops maximum attainable
seed quality. NJAS. 85-100. http://ac.els-cdn.com/
S1573521408800188/1-s2.0-S1573521408800188-main.pdf?
_tid=3f733bf4-8209-11e5-9df3-00000aacb35e&acdnat=14465
41373_641be4f38b20662fc3d42d83d64550ba
Nahar K, Ali MH, Amin AKHR, Hasanuzzaman M. 2009.
Moisture content and germination of beans (Phaseolus
vulgaris L.) under different storage conditions. Acad J Plant
Sci. 2(4): 237-241. http://www.idosi.org/ajps/2(4)09/4.pdf
Remediation of chlorinated solvent contamination on
industrial and airfield sites. 2000. United States Air Force
Restoration Program. https://clu-in.org/download/
contaminantfocus/dnapl/Treatment_Technologies/
remediation_of_chlorinated_DNAPL_AFCEEAF_Chlor.pdf
Waymer, Jim. 2014. 1,100 gallons of chlorine spills in Cocoa
Beach. Florida Today. http://www.floridatoday.com/story/
news/local/environment/2014/09/25/gallons-chlorine-spillscocoa-beach/16204883/
Wenck MA, Van Sickle D, Drociuk D, Belflower A,
Youngblood C, Whisnant MD, Taylor R, Rudnick V, Gibson
JJ. 2007. Rapid assessment of exposure to chlorine released
from a train derailment and resulting health impact. Public
Health Rep. 122(6): 784792. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC1997246/

References
Austin, David. 2015. Pricing freight transport to account for
external costs. Congressional Budget Office. http://
www.iemonitor.com/files/CBO%20freight%20costs.pdf
Chen, Sharon. 2015. 2,200 gallons of bleach spills in El Cajon.
Fox 5 News. http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/07/06/2000gallons-of-bleach-spill-into-storm-drain/
Duffy, M. 2009. Weapons of war poison gas. http://
www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm
Forkenbrock, David. 2001. Comparison of external costs of
rail and truck freight transportation. Transportation Research
Part A. 321-337. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/
download?doi=10.1.1.145.906&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Khan FI, Husain T, Hejazi R. 2004. An overview and analysis

of site remediation technologies. Journal of Environmental
Management. 71: 95-122. https://www.uvm.edu/~gdrusche/
Classes/GEOL%20295%20-%20Geomicrobiology/Khan
%20et%20al.,%202004%20JEM%20-%20Remediation
%20techniques%20overview.pdf
Kooistra E. 1971. Germinability of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris
L.) at low temperatures. Euphytica. 20: 208-213. http://
link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00056080#page-1

IN ALL THINGS
OF NATURE,
THERE IS
SOMETHING
MARVELOUS.
ARISTOTLE